11-year-old Bryce Ferguson of Henagar took the stage with Bo Jackson today as Jackson departed on a bike ride to raise money for Gov. Bentley's Tornado Relief Fund. Ferguson is being raised by his grandmother, Linda Chitwood, right, after losing both his parents and his sister in the April 27 tornado. Bryce sustained critical injuries himself, including brain damage.(The Huntsville Times/Paul Gattis)

HENAGAR -- For 10 days, doctors told Linda Chitwood that her grandson, Bryce Ferguson, wouldn't survive the injuries suffered in a tornado on April 27 of last year.

On Tuesday, 11-year-old Bryce stood next to football great Bo Jackson with Jackson's arm wrapped around his shoulder. "We've become real good friends," Jackson said.

Then Jackson hopped on his Trek bicycle and began a five-day, 300-mile journey throughout the state to raise $1 million for tornado recovery as part of the Governor's Emergency Relief Fund.

Jokes aside, Bryce was the reason the ride began here in DeKalb County in the northeast corner of the state. An EF-5 tornado ripped through Henagar on April 27 -- killing Bryce's parents and his sister and leaving Bryce with permanent brain damage, according to his grandmother Linda Chitwood.

Bo Jackson gears up to start the five-day, 300-mile ride across Alabama to raise $1 million for tornado relief. (Associated Press photo/Dave Martin)

He was a happy young man, however, after a private meeting with Jackson. And before the ride began, Jackson took Bryce on stage with him to address the crowd.

"Awesome," Bryce said of meeting Jackson, the 1985 Heisman winner from Auburn. "Going on stage was awesome."

The ride began with such celebrities as former NBA all-star Scottie Pippen, former baseball all-star Ken Griffey Jr. and Olympic gold medal skier Picabo Street.

But Bryce was the star of the day.

Chitwood lost her son Jeremy, a 1994 all-state football player at Sylvania High, as well as her daughter-in-law Tawnya and granddaughter Emma last year after 62 tornadoes touched down in Alabama in a 24-hour period.

Doctors at Birmingham's Children's Hospital told her Bryce would be next.

"After four days, they told me to go home and bury your son," Chitwood said. "We'll keep him alive until you get back. They kept telling me he was going to die. For 10 days, they did that. He just kept fighting. I kept praying. Everybody kept praying. He just kept fighting to come back."

Bryce remembers the storm but his injuries have robbed him of the emotional attachment to the moment, Chitwood said. Yet Bryce has a keen understanding of still being alive.

"When we came back and started looking through the devastation, he said, 'Granny, God wasn't ready for me. He told me to come back, and when He got ready for me, He would come get me.' Chitwood said.

"He is an inspiration."

Bo Jackson Bike Ride Across Alabama 04.24.12HENAGAR, Alabama -- Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson and former All-Star baseball player Ken Griffey Jr. talk about their 300-mile bike ride to benefit Alabama tornado victims on Tuesday, April 24, 2012. The ride is going to go through rural areas and communities hit hard by tornadoes last April 27. Jackson hopes to raise $1 million for the governor's relief fund and to raise awareness for those still in need. (The Huntsville Times/Paul Gattis)

According to the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, 253 people died in Alabama from the tornadoes of April 27, 2011. Thousands more were injured and thousands of families lost their homes.

And it's stories like Bryce's that have Jackson married to a bicycle for four straight days. The group arrived at Lake Guntersville State Park to end the first day about mid-afternoon. Jackson then tweeted that former Auburn and NBA all-star Charles Barkley had donated $50,000 to the cause -- pushing the total raised so far past $300,000.

The cross-state crusade will continue Wednesday across Marshall County before stopping in Cullman. Then it's on to Jasper and Bessemer before the ride ends to what's expecting to be a triumphant finish in Tuscaloosa on Saturday afternoon.

"I figured it was a 30-mile bike ride and it turned out to be 300," Griffey said. "I said, OK, I'm in. It's going to be a challenge, but it's going to be fun."